Fort Smith is hosting its annual downtown trick-or-treating event. Amanda Hager is the executive director of Main Street Fort Smith. She spoke with Ozarks at Large over Zoom last week to explain what’s happening down Garrison Avenue on Halloween night.
Amanda Hager: We are having Ghouls on Garrison, which is an annual tradition. It’s a family-friendly trick-or-treating event that happens every year in downtown Fort Smith. Of course, Garrison Avenue is our main thoroughfare, so that’s why it’s Ghouls on Garrison. It’s from 5 to 8 p.m. on Halloween night. We usually get thousands of participants every year, so we anticipate it to be hopping. One of the best parts is it is family-friendly, so we not only encourage the kids to dress up but the adults too. Families can come out together.
Jack Travis: Is anything new this year?
Hager: There’s nothing that’s new this year. It’s kind of one of those events that just organically tends to happen on its own, which is really fun. People gravitate toward downtown during the holiday season because this is the heart of our city, our historic city center. People just tend to gravitate toward downtown anyway when holidays and things are happening. So, there’s nothing new, but we do anticipate a big crowd from 5 to 8, especially that 5 to 7 time period.
I will say that what’s kind of new this year is there are some other events happening around the same time as Ghouls on Garrison, which is cool. Immaculate Conception Church, which is right at the top of Garrison Avenue, is having a big Halloween event that’s for the community. If you’re on Garrison Avenue, you can head up to Immaculate Conception and experience that.
One event that is new this year—that’s not something Main Street is doing but is happening at the same time—is over at the Wyndham, where they’re doing Hotel of Horrors. It actually starts at 8, and it’s for adults, but they have babysitting, so you can get a discounted price to stay overnight, go to the adult event, and get some babysitting. So, you know, come and do Ghouls on Garrison with the kids, and then there’s an adult thing after too, which is neat, and that’s new this year.
Travis: Can you highlight some of the businesses that will be participating in Ghouls on Garrison this year?
Hager: One of the things that I think is most special about Ghouls on Garrison is it really gives our community an opportunity to meet local business owners and the staff that work at these establishments downtown. My office is on Garrison Avenue. I work downtown, obviously, and I love being part of this community. It’s very special to be downtown. It’s just a different vibe. We’re all very close-knit. So, it’s really an awesome experience for the community to get to meet these folks and for the businesses to get to meet more community members.
We actually put together a map of the participating businesses, and we will release it on Oct. 27, so that’s the Monday before Halloween. That’s on our website, Main Street Fort Smith, and you can also find it on our socials at Main Street Fort Smith. We have Instagram and Facebook and are very active there.
In each block of Garrison, there is at least one participating business. There are also some businesses participating on Brunwick, just off 10th Street. So, it’s not just on Garrison—there are actually some other businesses participating as well.
Travis: Why is it important, or maybe even necessary, to have municipal events in addition to traditional neighborhood trick-or-treating?
Hager: That’s a great question. I mentioned that you get to meet the business owners when you come downtown, and I think that’s really the extra layer you get that maybe you don’t see in a neighborhood event. Of course, in the neighborhood, you’re going to meet some neighbors you’ve never met before, or you’re going to go visit a friend’s neighborhood, and that’s great. We love meeting our neighbors in that more condensed area.
But these are small business owners. These are people who are your neighbors, but they’re also making a living by being small business owners and contributing to our local economy in that space. That’s really important—that we as a community take stewardship and ownership to help our small business owners.
This is just a great, free, easy way to meet them. Walk up and down Garrison Avenue, see what’s new if you haven’t been here in a while. I think that’s the extra layer of what’s important about doing these types of events—to see what businesses are there and support our small business owners.
Travis: Yeah, and I like that it starts at 5 p.m. because you can go do this, maybe do the haunted hotel, and then you can still have some fun in your own neighborhood.
Hager: Yeah, absolutely. Come out to Garrison, trick-or-treat here, and then head to the neighborhood before you go back to the house and gobble up all the candy.
Travis: And finally, Amanda, I’m assuming that you’ll be there downtown.
Hager: You know, I’m going to do the same thing. I have a young child, and it’s really going to be the first year that he’s into it. Last year he was like, “What? Trick-or-treating? I don’t get it.” He’s almost 3, so we’re going to do the same thing. We’re going to come downtown, trick-or-treat downtown, and then head back to our neighborhood and trick-or-treat there too. We get to do all the things. I get to see all my friends downtown and then say hi to the neighbors.
Travis: Do you and your son have costumes planned yet?
Hager: I really wanted to be Cinderella and Gus Gus—the little mouse. I’ve tried to put the ears on him, and he’s not really into it. So, he may end up in the pajamas that kind of look like Gus Gus, and maybe I’ll be Cinderella. I also have a skeleton outfit, and he has skeleton pajamas, so we have backups.
That was Main Street Fort Smith’s Amanda Hager speaking with Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis.
